Archaius tigris (KUHL, 1820)
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Higher Taxa | Chamaeleonidae, Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | |
Synonym | Chamaeleo tigris KUHL 1820: 104 Chamaeleo scychellensis KUHL 1820: 104 Chamaeleo seichellensis — CUVIER 1829 (n. emend. pro Chamaeleo scychellensis KUHL 1820) Chamaeleo tigris — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1836: 212 Chamaeleo seychellensis — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1836 (n. emend. pro Chamaeleo scychellensis KUHL 1820) Chameleo fimbriatus — GRAY 1845 (nom. nud.) Lophosaura tigris — GRAY 1865: 351 Chamaeleon tigris — WERNER 1911 Chamaeleo tigris — MERTENS 1966 Calumma tigris — KLAVER & BÖHME 1986 Calumma tigris — NECAS 1999: 253 Archaius tigris — TOWNSEND et al. 2010 Archaius tigris — TOLLEY et al. 2013 |
Distribution | Seychelles (Mahé, Praslin, Silhouette) Type locality: none given; Iles Seychelles (Guibé 1954) |
Reproduction | oviparous |
Types | Holotype: MNHN-RA 6640 (by monotypy) |
Diagnosis | Original description: “Obscurus, rufescens, totus maculis nigris adspersus. Labiis albescentibus. Corpore magis gracili, qua ceterorum, cauda longa, extremitatibus tenuissimis, capite parvo. Lines tubercularum duabus, pone oculos in unam medianam, parum elevatam confluentibus; frontali utrinque cum occipitali confluenti. Dorso, neque cauda, carinato , abdomine carina nulla. Lobo mentali crenulato elongato , appendicibus minoribus posterioribus ad septem.” (Kuhl 1820: 104). Google translation (slightly edited): Dark, rufous, sprinkled with black spots all over. Lips whitish. The body is rather slim, like that of the other, with a long tail, very thin ends, and a small head. Lines of tubercles two, place your eyes in the middle one, slightly elevated by the confluence; on both sides of the frontal, with the occipital confluence. Dorsum, or tail, keeled, no abdominal keel. Mental lobe crenulate with elongated appendages, minor hindquarters to seven. |
Comment | Calumma tigris (Kuhl 1820) is endemic and the only chameleon occurring on the Seychelles. A phylogenetic analysis revealed that Calumma tigris is not closely related to other Calumma. TOWNSEND et al. (2010) thus proposed to put C. tigris in its own genus, Archaius GRAY 1865, because it “differs strikingly from its closest relatives, Rieppeleon, in microhabitat usage (arboreal versus ground-shrub dwelling), tail length (long versus short) and general appearance (larger and more colourful versus small and drab). Type species: Chamaeleo tigris is the type species of the genus Archaius GRAY 1865 (LOVERIDGE 1957). |
Etymology | Possibly named after the tiger pattern, but that’s not obvious. The genus name is from Greek “archaios”, ancient, primitive. |
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